Swimming bladder



Dec. '4, 1928. 1,693,779

F. FRANKE SWIMMING BLADDER Filed Sept. 13, 1926 Patented Dec. 4, 1928.

UNITED STATES earner series- FRITZ FRANKIE, BERLIN, GERMANY.

SWIMMING BLADDER.

Application ma September 13, 1926, SerialrN'o. 135,235, and. in. Germany June 6,1925.

My invention relates. to a swin'imingbladder for use in connection with swimminqfljackots, bathing.dr sses, and the like, and intended to be worn upon the breast side or chest sideof the body. There exist already swimming bladders of various type but-their object in general is solely t-o keep on the surface of the water persons who cannot swim. My improved swimming-bladder pursues, however, besides, a particular object, viz holding the body upoiithe water in that particular position which is the pre liminary condition for swimming at all. The possibility to remain upon the surface .of the water depends first of all. upon certain suitable position of thc'body, and only in the second case upon the swimming movements. This truth is'provcd by the fact that a person swimming upon the water can remain thereon without making anymovement it l1e, or she, lies on his, or her, back and keeps 1113,01 her, chest filled with air, the

back being kept as hollow as possible. In

requisite to enable the man etc. to make the proper swimming movements cannot be attained with the known means designed for that purpose because the respective bladders are either too large or too small, and in no way accommodated to the anatomic structure of the body. A swimming bladder actually suited for the purpose in view must be designed with tull consideration of the anatomic structure of the body, and in view of this indispensable requirement the pres ent improved swimming-bladder is so designed and shaped that the person wearing it and assuming a horizontal position upon the water is at once positively and automatically necessitated to draw his, or her,

belly somewhat inwards and to expand largely 111s, or her, chest which takes'place without any dlsagreeable pressure whatever.

If the respectivepersen assumes an incorrectposition then a certain pressure reminds him, or her, at once of this occurrence and he, or she will thereby be caused automati ally to re-assuine the former proper posi-- tion.

T is swimming-bladder designed accord ing to this invention is attached to the inner surface of the breast portion or chest portion or a bathin dress, that is to say, a pocket of suitable size and shape is attached to the bathing dress etc. at the place mentioned, and the bladder is inserted thereinto. Its proper size is such that itprojects up- \vardly and laterally over the breast nipples, and.downwardly about to the navel, so that the largest diameter oi the bladder when being blown up covers the heart and the body portion surrounding the solar plexus.

living tothe bladder bei g -.rranged in a pocket of the bathing drcf ming jacket or the like, it is securely pre vented from displacing; in other words: its properposition relatively to the body is always the same. I V

This improved swimming bladder renders it possible to dispense with the usual hurtt'ul breastgirdle which hinders the important expansion ofthe chest and presses upon the heart muscle. j r

An advantage obtained byarrauging the bladder inside. thedress etc. consists also therein that it is no more visible from the outside, The valve hose can be put through an aperture in the upper seam of the chest pocket and then bent inwardly.

A swimming bladder of the present improved kind need not be blown upso strongly as otherwise customary, because one of the effects of the adaptation of its shape 9 to the chest resides therein that this latter is automatically expanded whereby the lungs are compelled to take up a larger amount of air than otherwise. i

A plurality of pockets attached to the outer side of a bathing dress etc. cannot ,or of a swimrender theeifect in view as they act just counter to the body assuming the proper position for swimming.

The bladder may be provided with two eyes or loops through which an 'ezrpansible girdle of rubber or the like may be put, and laid around the body.

The bladder renders it possible for all persons that cannot swim and have neither no anxiety in the water, the more, as the narily increased.

opportunity nor time to learn swimming in swiinming baths to learn itby'themselves in a convenient manner, quickly and without striking others with amazement. A man etc., wearing a bathing dress or the like provided with the improved bladders feels heart point and the solar plexus are insulated from the water by the bladder. Furthermore the body is caused automatically to assume the proper position in the water, i. e. that positionwhieh is a presupposition to swimming. This is the fundamental requirement; all other things are mere trainng. 7 i

The bladder is intended also for allsuch swimmers whose heart and kidneys are a little affected, and which suffer, therefore, from a somewhat diminished self-confidence. Thesenervous persons regain their former self-confidence at once, whereby their joy of exercising the swimming sport is extraordi- The invention is illustrated diagrammatically and by way of example on the. accompanying drawing on which Figure 1 is a plan of the swimming bladder designed ac cording to this invention, Figure 2 a view of a bathing dress equipped with a similar bladder, this figure being drawn to a somewhat reduced scale relatively to Fig. 1, and Figure 3 is a section in the plane 33 of Fig. 2.

The shape of the bladder a is about that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and its size is such that it covers the breast nipples and the solar plexus. The bladder is provided, as usual, with an air hose I) having attached to it a valve 6. These means serve, of course, for filling the bladder with air and retaining this latter therein, as usual. The bladder may be subdivided into several compartments, for instance three, by ledges c, as

usual; these compartments may communicatewith each other. A subdivided bladder accommodates itself better to the chest, and i is more suited tomaintain the lateral equilibrium, and also the resistance to the water i is reduced by that provision. (i denotes loops through which a rubber girdle may be drawn. r

The bladderis located in a pocket 6 provided on the inner breast side or chest side of the bathing dress f. The pocket 6 is, how-s ever, in fact, an inverted pocket in that it is closed at its upper rim and open at its lower rim; it is provided "with slots 9 through whichthe loops d extends outwardly 1n order to receive the rubber girdle h; This girdle serves also for closing the pocket at its op en lower rim and for securing the bladder in its position within the pocket.

The bladder need be blown up onlymoderatelyin that it does not require a larger amount of air than a grown-up person can take up in hlS, or her, lungs. r i

I claim:

In combination with a bathing "dress,

swimming jacket, or thelike, a pocket provided on the inner surface of the breast side or chest side of the respective garment, and a swimmingbladder arranged in said pocket,

the size of the pocket and of the bladder be-.

ing such that this latter covers the; body portion extending from the chest, or the breast nipples, to the navel, orthe solar plexus, I

FRITZ FRANKE;

whereof I aflix my signature. 

